Lecco excluded from Serie B, an Italian story

Italian football still does not disappoint and inevitably again this year that clubs are forced to say goodbye to professionalism in the hope of being able to start again at amateur level. It’s about at the moment Pordenone and Siena, the You have to say goodbye to Lega Pro due to corporate problems due to clubs’ poor financial management: should the Friulians work with the court to reach an agreement for a settlement with the creditors, Siena instead “celebrates” the third exclusion in the last nine years. A negative record that sums up the Sienese sports crisis after the collapse of Montepaschi.

But apart from these companies (and any surprises that Covisoc might bring), in the last few days to earn thatto honor In the chronicles there was a case more unique than rare, symbolic of all the frontiers of Italian football: that of Lecco.

Indeed, by defeating Foggia in the Series C playoff final, the Lombard company achieved the historic promotion to the B-class that had been missed for 50 years. A smooth ride for a club that had started with ambitions to bail out and ended the season level on points with Pordenone in third place. In addition, it is a result that the team around Mr. Foschi and the patron Paolo Di Nunno achieved with an effort of approx €1.5m for the squad, one of the lowest figures in all of Serie C.

But the party didn’t have time to spread across the city, and just 24 hours later, managers were racing against time to obtain the necessary paperwork to enroll in B. In fact, on June 20th at 21.00 the mandatory deadlines expired. The deadline for submitting the required documents has expired. The folders were already available in the secretariat, it’s a pity that one was missing small detail, or the indication of Stadium where home games are played. A detail that could cost not only participation in Serie B 2023/24, but also in the next Lega Pro championship: Lecco could basically be ridiculed and Reboot from the D series. But let’s go in order.

The Rigamonti Ceppi Stadium, the current facility, does not meet the requirements of the Cadet Championship and requires modernization work in terms of the installation of turnstiles, lighting, capacity, but above all services and access. In short, a real redesign for a sports facility that hasn’t seen a Serie B for half a century. However, the club was aware of this and failed to offer an alternative option for home games when signing up. It means that the documentation presented in League B it was incomplete.

A practice, as demonstrated by the FIGC’s national licensing system issued in March 2023, which does not allow exceptions for newly promoted individuals. Title II, point B letter A is clear: “All services mentioned in the same letter can be integrated within the mandatory deadline of June 20, 2023.” The documents submitted after the deadline of June 20, 2023 and the services provided after this deadline cannot be accepted by the Commission for Infrastructural and Sport Organizational Criteria still be taken into account by the Federal Council.”

At the same time it must be emphasized The association had found a facility suitable, namely only the Euganeo Stadium in Padua 24 hours after the deadline of the term. All because Lecco reacted too late and contacted neighboring companies hoping to find a solution when time was running out. However, Monza, Novara, Brescia and Vercelli said no to the use of their facility, and President Di Nunno sharply attacked Galliani, ironically wishing him two hundred thousand years of life.

“Galliani denied me the stadium, let’s hope he lives another two hundred thousand years.”.

The fact is that the Lecco Volcano President, together with his staff, made an unforgivable mistake during registration. Because if, on the one hand, the promotion came “surprisingly”, on the other hand, the association should have first informed and protected itself by starting the process of certifying the sports facility earlier, as Foggia himself had done – the Apulians, paradoxically, have all the documentation for a possible registration in submitted to Series B.

But then, once the promotion was established, Lecco could also have made a request via certified email an exemption from the covenant It took a few more hours to submit the relevant documents for the stadium. An option that, according to Lega B, Lecco would not have resorted to. The Lombard company has a high opinion, so the certified email would have been sent on June 16, two days before the return. Thus, Lecco would have requested an exemption from Lega A, Lega B and Lega Pro in order to be able to submit the application for registration in the next tournament (which had not yet been determined as of June 16). On June 20, he would therefore have submitted the application directly to Lega B.

However, the Prefect of Padua, after consultation with the Police Headquarters, authorized the use of the Veneto Stadium from June 21, one day after the deadline; It is important to note that the Prefect acknowledged this in the same form sent to the League After receiving everything I needed from Lecco on June 19th, a day before the registration deadline. However, for its part, and according to the news gathered by our editorial team, the Lega B would only have received the email in the mail on June 22 and not in the days before, as the club was informed. A beautiful intrigue.

Unfortunately for Lecco, however, things could get worse. If the exclusion from the Series B championship is confirmed, as we informed you at the beginning of the article, the Lombard club will also be excluded from Series C since the deadlines for submitting the registration request have expired. Basically: Lecco in Serie D. However, given that there are no exceptions but only mandatory conditions, at the same time we must hope that the law will again be applied without discrimination, especially in relation to the above conditions, which in the past have cost several clubs the exclusion of guarantees or agreements with the tax authority. However, one thing needs to be stressed: the federation must also take into account the postponements, as occurred with the Lega Pro play-offs, which were postponed by a week due to bureaucratic problems, giving more time latitude to ensure registration for interesting clubs . And Mario Balata, President of Lega B, made a shy mea culpa: “Perhaps an extension should have been considered.”

Now, despite the 24-hour overrun, Lecco can either hope to be included in Serie B or be included in the Lega Pro. Two solutions that would set two precedents and the federation will hardly be able to show favouritism.

The situation is complicated: if Lecco’s good will is considered in good faith, it could be hypothesized that the league could turn a blind eye by granting membership to the Lombard club; On the other hand, these mandatory conditions have always cost other clubs dearly in the past. We have to enforce compliance with the law, even if that hard hit can cost those on the field who undoubtedly deserve the promotion dearly, but you know, the law applies and cannot be interpreted. Lets see what happens.